Ignorance is never bliss – especially in recruitment

The recent article in Shortlist, “immigration law ignorance is a noose around recruiters’ necks” was a strong reminder of the reasons why ITCRA has a Business Knowledge program and, more importantly, a team of Supporters and Partners to work with our Members, and the broader industry, to ensure there is support and information available should a problem occur. Alan Chanesman, from Lipman James Immigration Lawyers, the commentator in the article has long been an adviser to the contracting and recruitment sector on all issues related to migration, in particular 457 on hire labour agreements and, with his ear close to Government, any risks he highlights should be taken seriously.

In response to the article both Certex International and WorkPro, solutions providers to the sector, quickly responded with case studies and risk management solutions already available and accessed by many companies in the recruitment and contracting sector. The importance of these discussions cannot be emphasised enough so I thought it useful to review what all the fuss is about:

The facts:

• The Department of Immigration & Border Protection is increasing its focus on visa holder compliance checks
• 457 visa holders are only a small minority of visa holders in the scheme of things
• Non – citizens on temporary visas must have the appropriate work rights in order to perform paid work
• Temporary visa holders includes student, working holiday visa and permanent New Zealand residents among others

The risks:

• Failure to thoroughly assess the right to work
• Failure to monitor and administer the person’s work rights
• Failure to maintain appropriate records
• Failure to understand the difference between different visas and their requirements
• Disgruntled candidates and/or employees who can expose your organisation to a complete review

The mitigation:

• Ensure you understand your legal obligations with respect to all forms of  visas by discussing issues with a specialist immigration lawyer
• Always check whether your candidate has the right to work in Australia using the Department of Immigration’s Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO).
• Apply your own due diligence and complete an Immigration Compliance Risk Assessment or Certification Program

I am pleased to say that no ITCRA Member should be jumping at shadows with these latest discussions as our Supporters have your back if you engage with them to mitigate your risk:

• Lipman James Migration Lawyers As a result of subject matter specialism, Lipman James is the immigration adviser to a number of Australia’s most active professional peak industry bodies and their Members, including ITCRA.

• WorkPro offers seamless integrated access to the Department of Immigration’s Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO). As part of WorkPro’s breadth of employment screening services, companies have access to instant, accurate and transparent employee work rights information as part of a bundled package,including evidence of the completed check and an automated alerting service.

• Certex International provides an Immigration Compliance Risk Assessment or Certification Program which looks to all employees, not just known visa holders, and ensures you have no gaps which could put your business at risk.

The message in the discussions is that the DIBP are out there picking their targets, and it will be only a matter of time before many more companies get the phone call to say someone is going to be checking your records – are you 100% confident?

“How long is a piece of string?”

I recently received a call from a Member needing information on LAFHA (Living Away From Home Allowance). The Member had accessed the ITCRA Tax Guide (like all aware Members should), found the section that was developed on LAFHA when all the changes were brought in and, just to be sure, emailed the ITCRA info line to check that the information as he read it was acceptable to his situation and could be used.

ITCRA hasn’t had a LAFHA question for so long I thought it best to check as the changes in these areas are subtle but carry incredible risk if badly managed. So a call to ITCRA’s Taxation Lawyer, Peter Gell, a review of the Tax Guide advice completed on the weekend, and the Member got his answer.

I had a call from another Member with a question on Working Holiday visas. Again so many changes that it is impossible to keep up so call goes out to the Immigration lawyer Alan Chanesman. All sorted and Member’s compliance and risk management intact.

Then a curly one: a call from a senior manager whose boss was overseas. A candidate was threatening to self harm. The Manager had followed all the procedures in place referring the candidate to professional assistance but needed additional advice on ensuring the business was protected. A call to the OAMPS team, policies checked, further referral points for candidate agreed upon and assistance for the manager to address any further calls from the candidate. The candidate is now accessing much needed support. The iSafe and WorkPro advisories on mental health got a workout and the senior manager was able to report a positive outcome when her boss returned.

Next, a contractor contacts me through LinkedIn, after seeing the ad on television where ITCRA (me) is promoting the IT Institute for improving job success through upgrading skills.

I referred her to the ITCRA Member Directory and to the IT Contractors’ network on LinkedIn which ITCRA moderates. She followed up to let me know she had very positive meetings with recruiters. I might add she fits all the demographics under scrutiny – female in IT, mature age, considered overqualified, based in a smaller capital city where roles are scarce. She later followed up to let me know she has a contract role for six months and has a network to connect with via LinkedIn, to assist her going forward.

A researcher was looking for some comment on women in IT for a paper they were writing. ITCRA’s Insight has published two papers on this topic and I have developed several blog discussions based on the research so that one was easy. And it also gave me the context for my next column for the Global Recruiter!

No, I don’t have every answer at my fingertips and no, it isn’t all on our website. It is impossible to forecast what might be asked BUT the network that is ITCRA knowledge is so far reaching that there are very few questions the Association receives that we can’t go to an “expert” and get the support we need.

That ball of string that is the ITCRA services and support continues to unravel as more and more clients, candidates, Members and non-Members see ITCRA as a reference point for the white collar contracting and recruitment environment with ICT front and centre in that space. It is great to know the network of providers we have established ensures the answers are provided and, ITCRA can build its knowledge base for all who need it.

Keep those queries coming – knowledge is power and gives us all a voice.